The Stena Line Belfast Giants finished the weekend on a high, taking two points in a hard-fought match with the Nottingham Panthers in front of over 4,500 fans at the Odyssey Arena. The tight scoreline told only half the story, with both netminders coming up against a great number of shots. With the Giants’ injury list only increasing after Saturday night to include McCutcheon, Kompon, Murphy and Garside, fans could have been nervous coming into this game. Allaying these fears with the game-winning goal was Evan Cheverie after 45:33.
The first period played out exactly as anticipated with plenty of big hits and five penalty calls between the two teams. The Giants took the lead at 5:09with a shorthanded goal after Cheverie provided a perfect backhanded pass across to Sandrock who made no mistake with his slapshot. On their first powerplay opportunity the Giants put Modig under plenty of fire but were unfortunate not to make it 2-0. After end-to-end hockey, the Panthers clawed a goal back from Schmidt after Graham came out of the box perfectly on time to receive a pass and eventually set up the equaliser at 18:19. The Panthers upped the pressure on Chubak for the final minute but he denied them time and time again.
The second period began with both netminders coming under a lot of fire but both were more than up to the challenge. The 20 mins saw no players enter the box, however at 36:33 the major talking point arrived with Sawada awarded a penalty shot. Unfortunately, Sawada’s backhand effort couldn’t get past Modig covering his post. The rest of the period continued with both teams having a few opportunities and as the final minute appeared on the clock tension’s arose. After 40 minutes of play the score still remained 1-1.
Giants fans didn’t have to wait long in the final period for the game winner when Cheverie got on the end of a rebound shot from Ray Sawada at 45:33. With few penalties in the period, fans may have felt anxious when Keefe took two minutes for boarding but a sloppy pass from Modig on the powerplay landed straight on Lloyd’s stick however luckily for the Panthers their defence were on top of this. Shortly after this another great chance fell to Lloyd when Sawada blocked just inside the blue-line and Darryl Lloyd ends up 1-on-1 with Modig only for his shot to creep narrowly wide of the post. At 58:58 the Panthers had little option but to pull their netminder as the Giants go on the powerplay. Only 11 seconds later Mason took a penalty but Chubak made sure the score stayed at 2-1.
Final score:
Stena Line Belfast Giants 2-1 Nottingham Panthers
Hey Giants fans – those Elite League standings look pretty good to us following tonight's 2-1 home win v Nottingham! pic.twitter.com/mqTbYHptVS
— Belfast Giants (@BelfastGiants) November 16, 2014
AUDIO: Game Winner Evan Cheverie after scoring at 45:33 to give the Stena Line Belfast Giants a vital home win – https://t.co/rNXdv5Qcif
— Belfast Giants (@BelfastGiants) November 16, 2014
AUDIO: Steve Thornton, Head of Hockey Operations, reviews today's 2-1 home win against the Nottingham Panthers! https://t.co/WbeUJfBIHP
— Belfast Giants (@BelfastGiants) November 16, 2014
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